JonnyG
12-05-2003, 01:16 PM
Middle Earth Online has a new developer diary (http://www.middle-earthonline.com/index.php?section=devblog_fausto) and released info on a new class, Sage (http://www.middle-earthonline.com/index.php?section=classes&article=sage).Another feature that we believed was important to make NPCs come alive was movement. In MEO we used the AI system to control walking. This results in much more robust and natural looking movement than having a completely separate routine to handle movement. Having seen pieces of Bree in the game, I can say that it's really cool to see the AIs scurrying about their daily business, whether it's patrolling the streets or pecking at seeds. And yes, chickens have AI too!
This is interesting and relates back to our discussion on NPC behaviour (http://www.mythicahq.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=436). I'd like to hear more about what people think NPC behaviour should be.
In some games, the AI that governs NPC behavior is separated from the combat logic. But for MEO we wanted to do more interesting things during battles than just fight, so our AI can respond to any event regardless of whether it is fighting or not. This gives us the option to have interesting boss monsters that, when nearing death, deviously turn to one of their allies to drain their life force. We could also have one temporarily stop attacking in order to try to make a bargain with the player via one of the conversation panels talked about above (think Sam and Frodo discovering and scuffling with Gollum for the first time and eventually reaching a deal instead of taking his life).
Great combat AI is a must, Mythica has to follow through on this as well. A MMRPG is not next generation with boring combat.
The tools that the AI system gives the designers are so powerful that they have been used even in places where there isn't a visible NPC to attach the AI to. Every private encounter has at its heart an invisible AI "referee" that can manage the private encounter experience.
This allows the designers to set up complex AI behavior for quest-centric private encounters without having to learn a new system. For example, the designers could create a private encounter such that when a player's fellowship kills the fifth Orc the referee AI causes one of the walls to crumble and reveal a hidden passage. These invisible NPCs give private encounters the same flexibility and range of responses as a town guard that you could see and touch would have.
This is really cool. Each private realm gets it's own AI. I believe Mythica probably has something like this too. But allows for much more immersion if instead of scripted events triggered by location or actions things happen based upon analyzing what you do.
This is interesting and relates back to our discussion on NPC behaviour (http://www.mythicahq.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=436). I'd like to hear more about what people think NPC behaviour should be.
In some games, the AI that governs NPC behavior is separated from the combat logic. But for MEO we wanted to do more interesting things during battles than just fight, so our AI can respond to any event regardless of whether it is fighting or not. This gives us the option to have interesting boss monsters that, when nearing death, deviously turn to one of their allies to drain their life force. We could also have one temporarily stop attacking in order to try to make a bargain with the player via one of the conversation panels talked about above (think Sam and Frodo discovering and scuffling with Gollum for the first time and eventually reaching a deal instead of taking his life).
Great combat AI is a must, Mythica has to follow through on this as well. A MMRPG is not next generation with boring combat.
The tools that the AI system gives the designers are so powerful that they have been used even in places where there isn't a visible NPC to attach the AI to. Every private encounter has at its heart an invisible AI "referee" that can manage the private encounter experience.
This allows the designers to set up complex AI behavior for quest-centric private encounters without having to learn a new system. For example, the designers could create a private encounter such that when a player's fellowship kills the fifth Orc the referee AI causes one of the walls to crumble and reveal a hidden passage. These invisible NPCs give private encounters the same flexibility and range of responses as a town guard that you could see and touch would have.
This is really cool. Each private realm gets it's own AI. I believe Mythica probably has something like this too. But allows for much more immersion if instead of scripted events triggered by location or actions things happen based upon analyzing what you do.